Story

Ben Birdland has seen a lot in his time, including the worst of the Grand War. But nothing was worse than what he saw as a beat cop in New Meridian. When he ran afoul of his crooked unit he was given a violent early retirement, and his broken body was left to spend the rest of its days in an iron lung.

That would have been the end of Ben’s story if it hadn't drawn the ears of the Anti-Skullgirl Labs. With little left to lose, he agreed to be rebuilt with their experimental procedures. Melded with the machinery that allows him to breathe and a powerful an array of pneumatic weaponry, he was reborn as “Big Band.”

Now a senior member of Lab 8, he’s become a father figure of sort to the younger ASG soldiers. A firm believer in their cause, he has stayed with the project through its controversies and still sees his place on the front lines against the Skullgirl.

Basics

Big Band is a big character that is best played defensively to use his large normals and his variety of high risk, high reward tools to punish the opponent. His big hurtbox and lack of mobility makes him vulnerable to crossups, instant overheads, and stray hits, emphasizing his defensive play.

His Sound Stun, a character unique form of Stagger, gives him different combos and conversions than other characters.

His various specials cover different angles around Big Band, granting him space control, at the risk of leaving himself vulnerable if they whiff or are blocked.

He has very good assists to benefit the entire cast and any team, whatever their need is.

Parrying allows him to deflect predictable pressure, gaining meter, and punish his opponent afterwards. But over-zealousness will quickly put him in a bad position.

Important moves:

Brass Knuckles - A rush punch that has armor and gives Big Band some mobility while hitting what's in front of him.

Take the 'A' Train - A command grab or an anti-air grab that has armor and gives Big Band some mobility.

Beat Extend - Big Band's meterless reversal that is invulnerable, can hit behind him, and is easy to convert from.

Cymbal Clash - A disjointed special that allows Big Band to space his opponents while in the air.

Sound Stun

Many of Big Band's attacks cause a unique Sound Stun on hit. This hit effect has a distinctive musical hit spark and has additional hit stop for the opponent or a knockdown depending on the attack. Attacks that end in a Sound Stun all lead to damaging combos for Big Band. Because Big Band can use only one Sound Stun per combo, the property acts as a character exclusive version of stagger. Additional Sound Stun attacks in the same combo have their diminished, normal properties.

Assists

Brass Knuckles (H): This attack covers almost the entire screen. Big Band's 2 hits or make it difficult for the opponent to interrupt the assist. Will not cause a sliding knockdown due to assists changing red bounces to green bounces.

Noteworthy Custom Assists

Take the A Train (← charge →+K): While the LK version of this special is a proper , the short range and low damage make it less useful than other assist. The MK and HK versions grab at airborne opponents behind armor can discourage a defending character from spending too much time in the air. Several characters have a a hard time breaking Big Band's using air normals!

Giant Step (↓↙←+K): While all versions of this attack can force an opponent to block , the HK version stands out as the best for an assist; when not in range for the direct hit, the earthquake effect forces the opponent to jump and abandon full screen zoning tactics. The point character won't care about wasting Big Band's Sound Stun on the first hit of a combo!

Bagpipe Blues (→, HP, MP, LP, →): Selected by pressing start on custom assist select. When used, he will play until he acquires the charge for his next super then leave the screen.

Big Band pulls out a trumpet, which will act as any other single hit normal if chained into a stronger (HP or HK) attack. If chained into itself or a weaker attack (LP or LK), chaining with any additional button presses will play additional notes as long as Big Band holds the trumpet. Up to the first 6 notes can actually hit, with more hits becoming active with more levels of meter in stock. Additional hits will all contribute to undizzy as individual MP normals. Holding ← or → during Free Form will cause the next button input to put away the trumpet in favor of the button's actual attack, assuming that button can chain out of a s.MP. Mashing buttons and accidentally going Free Form will leave Big Band defenseless, while careful use can lead to his level 5 super.

A slow blast from a massive tuba. On hit, the Sound Stun causes an extended hit stop on the opponent. Hitting without a Sound Stun gives the opponent invulnerability and allows an immediate Ground Recovery, similar to a sweep.

Big Band drops to the ground, attacking above and around himself with air blasts. The low profile hurt boxes and large hit box make the attack a useful anti-air and make the tall Big Band less susceptible to instant overheads. Oh hit, the blasts draw defending characters closer to Big Band instead of pushing them away.

A 2 part attack with a low-angled clarinet, first hitting directly below Big Band and then spinning for additional hits after a second button press. The second attack's spinning hits cause a float effect and force Big Band to stay airbourne.

He can't use this float if he's already used a double jump, but he can use the float to extend a super jump to a full screen's distance for a desperately needed movement option.

The first hit can be used at the start of a jump for a quick overhead that cancels to Cymbal Clash for a combo.

Big Band attacks with a clumsy drop kick, forcing himself to land on his back and use a Ground Recovery. When used air to air, the high wall bounce will leave the opponent flying across the screen while Big Band slowly gets himself together. The Ground Recovery is no different than any other, so careful placement will let Big Band use it's invulnerable frames to get across the screen.

*On hit, j.HK can't cancel to a special move, but it can still cancel to Tympany Drive.

The first frame data graph shows the move with a ground recovery. The second shows without.

* 16 frames of recovery, then the opportunity to ground tech. There are 3 additional frames of recovery if no ground tech is performed.

Big Band reaches out in an attempt to draw in and trap the opponent in his tambourine. On hit, the "shake" (mash , , ... OR ←,→,←,→...) inputs give additional, rapid hits that are best used after a combo has reached maximum damage scaling. The Sound Stun causes extra hit stop for the opponent, giving Big Band enough time to recover and start a combo before the defending player falls to the ground.

If done as an assist, the and versions lose 2f of invulnerability at startup.

Big Band's signature straight rush punch goes further and hits harder with increasing button strength. While it is the safest version on block, LP Brass Knuckles is the only version that has no armor and can't cause a knockdown. The MP and HP versions have armor, a knockdown or a slide on hit, and appropriate block disadvantage.

If done as an assist, the M and H version apply an extra 87.5% damage scaling.

Big Band loses the armor from either Brass Knuckles' or Take the 'A' Train during the entire animation of this move.

Any input during a Brass Knuckles or any input during a Take the 'A' Train will cause Big Band to stop his charge with a brief recovery animation. This can be used to fake out the defending player or move an armored Big Band around without committing to the attack.

Big Band extends long, thin arms to clap cymbals together. This attack's start up shifts his jump momentum so he floats slightly up and backwards. The large, disjointed hit box allows Big Band to space his opponent in the while in the air.

On hit, the Sound Stun gives a full knockdown and relatively easy follow up combo to Take the 'A' Train once Big Band lands. Without Sound Stun, the opponent becomes invulnerable for the knockdown and can use an immediate Ground Recovery.

Big Band performs a 4 hit charging attack using a french horn, giving the attack a hit box that covers almost the entire height of the screen. After the frames of complete invulnerability the attack protects Big Band with armor during the charge. The final hit sends the opponent flying backwards behind Big Band for the knockdown.

After charging up a taunt, Big Band's Super Sonic Jazz charge has more hits of armor and adds the TUBA TUBA! attack after the 4th hit. Not only do these punches deal additional damage, they sends the opponent into a knockdown directly in front of Big Band for an easier DHC.

Big Band beats a set of timpanis, hitting below and around himself as he hovers. Holding a direction during the attack will control Big Band's hover, which lets him follow the opponent through the air and connect with all 16 hits. The opponent lands from the final hit's knockdown before Big Band lands, so he can continue a combo after the Tympany Drive if he's in range to OTG with an air normal on the way down.

If Big Band whiffs this attack completely, he is able to take any action on the way down.

When powered up with a taunt, the 16th hit of Tympany Drive becomes a throw on hit. The additional Death Toll resembles Big Band's regular air throw and deals damage free from any damage scaling effects. * With Sound Stun, Big Band lands first and can continue the combo on the falling opponent.

Without Sound Stun, the opponent becomes invulnerable for the knockdown and can use an immediate Ground Recovery.

Big Band sends a wave of podiums across the ground. Upon a 7th successful hit, the podiums knock the opponent upwards to get bombarded by trumpet mute missiles. Because the bulk of the damage is dealt by the missiles, it's best to end a combo with this super.

The full attack will only trigger after a successful 7th hit, damage shows complete attack, frame data shows attack on whiff or block.

After hitting s.MP, Big Band can play the first notes of the Skullgirls title theme. This just so happens to be the command for a level 5 super, triggering an extended super freeze while Big Band's meter gauge drains from 5 full levels to 0. With the opponent fully frozen, Big Band can play additional trumpet notes with impunity. The notes do no additional damage.

Inputting via trumpet decreases the startup from 2 to 1 frame.

Choosing to not inputting qcf + + during the extended super freeze will put Big Band in a brief and invulnerable recovery.

Satchmo Deathblow ignores armor.

The second frame data graph shows the move when the 236PP follow up is not performed.

Taunt

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Bagpipe Blues

, , , ,

Guard

Properties

Damage

Meter

On Hit

On Block

N/A

-

N/A

0%

N/A

N/A

Startup

Active

Recovery

Hit Stun

Block Stun

Hit Stop

N/A

N/A

110

N/A

N/A

N/A

Successfully taunting will trigger a visual effect over Big Band similar to the Sound Stun hit effect, signaling his next Super-Sonic Jazz or Tympany Drive super will use the stored taunt. The upgraded versions of these supers have a follow up attack and additional damage.

Holding the respective button while inputting the super will not consume the charge.

Big Band doesn't get the boost if he is interrupted from his taunt before the visual effect.

Holding the input will continue to play Bagpipe Blues for no additional benefits.

Combos

Beginner Combos

If the bread and butter combos are too daunting, try to become comfortable doing each of these combos. Start with the first, then move to the next one. When you play matches, it's good enough to use the one you can perform the most consistently. Once you can do all of them, try learning the combos in the following sections!

1.

c.LK > c.MK c.HK

A basic ground chain ending in a sweep.

2.

c.LK > c.MPx2 > c.HP xx H Take the 'A' Train

A basic ground chain ending in a special cancel. This combo will get you used to doing charge motions in combos. After you input c.HP, be sure to hold 1 (the down-back position) so you have a charge ready for A Train.

Strategy

Patiently observe his opponent's habits and wait for his time to punish.

Condition his opponent so that they play into his hands.

Use his high risk, high reward tools to control space in neutral, punish his opponent, or convert off stray hits.

Big Band is a defensive playstyle character that excels at punishing his opponents habits, although not without risks in doing so. Boasting the biggest hurtbox in the game, slow mobility, and relatively slow moves emphasize his need of patient, defensive play.

Big Band's mobility isn't as great as other character but using Emergency Break during Brass Knuckles or Take the 'A' Train, j.HK to use a ground recovery after landing, and the second part of j.MK which uses his double jump, allows him to get around the screen at the cost of being vulnerable.

Trumpet

After using s.MP, chaining with additional button presses will cause Big Band to play additional trumpet notes. Individual buttons play the distinct notes as shown. Holding ↑ or ↓ while playing will move the notes up or down an octave. Thanks to the Skullheart Forum for listing the original scale.